Method of providing fastening material



W. H. NUTT ETAL Sept. 29, 1942.

METHOD OF PROViDING' FASTENING MATERIAL Filed Nov. 18, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l I II ill 1--- Sept. 29, 1942. w. H. NUTT ETAL 2,295,942

METHOD OF PROVIDING FASTENING MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 18, 1940 ffor usev in fastening inserting ina ent y h n ed Patented Sept. 29, 1942 METHOD OF PROVIDING FASTENING William H. Nutt, Beverly, andArthur-LrgRussell, 1Boston;Mass., assignors 'tm-UniteG ShoeMa- .chine'ry.v Corporation;Flemington, .N.'JJ.', .a .corpQratiQnofNeW-IQI W Application November 18, 19510, Serial Np., 366,0 46

'6 :Claims.

This invention relates ,to improvements in methods of providinglfib'er fasteningmaterialfor use simultaneously "at different operating positions and it is illustrated herein" by way, of .ex-

ample with reference to providing'such material i v runes. 'Iri many'gang type fastening inserting machines, which are arrange'dlt'o insert a plurality .of fastenings simultaneously into a work vpiece such, foreiramplefas heel "seat lasting machines or'lheel attaching machines, the probiem'ortproy viding aplu'rality ofstrands Offth'e 'matrialfi'om which ,thepegs or otherifastening's arelt'o' -be formed has caused considerable trouble, particuh1'1y .in' the'oase of finer, fastening material, be- ]c'ja'use of lthe' 'difiiculties encountered .in handling and controlling aiplur'ality of sparate strands ime material pricryto its introduction into the fastening inserting machine.

Oblectsof the presentinvention are to .proyide improved methods of providing a plurality of strands of material of the type referred to or use'simultane'ous'ly at different operating positions as, ,for example, a ,g'angptyp e' fastening ,insertinsmachin f h' IIl/T hg outrth ese object the invention pro- Y vides, in accordancewith one aspecttanl improved method in which a plurality of separate strands of fastening "material such," for example; '.as twistedielted fibrous material are united to form a single integral strip of Inaterialvand this strip "is ,then wound into'a soil which may ,be conven- C Q' t led'iand from which sequently'lae drawn the'separate strand ma as they are needed for u ferent operating positi'gms.- r s herein illustrated, he strands a e arranged in pa a e 'e t to 11 other and are .united"by adhesive to form a sulqstahtially' fiat ribbon which maybe conveniently wound into a coil that can' be readily unwound 'as' the strands of fastening material are needed for use'at said operating positions.

' In another aspect, the invention provides an improved method in which a coil or reel of of fastening material of the type referred to is proat' a plura lity of difvided,'th e coil comprising ap'lur'ality of separate strands of the fasteningmaterial united by ad hesiye' such as gl e to form "a single integral strip inthe form or a substantially fiat ribbon. This ribbon is unwound from the coil as the fastening material is needed for u e and is separated into its original plurality or'separate strands as the ribbon is unwound, the strandsthen being guided into the "difierent operating positions Where they ar to be used." As'il ll 'trated'g'th ribbon is fed toward the operating positions as itis .unwound from the coil and rduring this jeedingmovement, it may be separated into its original plurality of strands by rotary knives or disksafter which, in accordance with the present method, the strands, are preferably fed simultaneously toward the operating positions and each strand is guided n i ua i t t e arat n p s t on here is t belu e With the above and other objectsuand aspects in view, the invention .Will now be described in 'on thie line in rm in Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view partly in section taken on the -line IV,-IV in .2;

Fi 5 is an' n ar ed sec i na il t e on he line VTV i -1,

6 is a p sp ctive V ew f th re l and i ing, cutting and feeding members utilized in practicing the present method;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged view taken on the line .V I n Fi 6;

Fig. 8 i an enlarged view taken on the line VIII VIII in Fig. 6

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view talgen on the line IX- IX in Fig. .6; and

Fig. 10 is an venlarged perspective View of an integral strip or ribbon made up of a plurality of strands of felted fibrous material.

In carr n ou th method o t p esent. vention, a plurality of separate strands of twisted felted fibrous material 20 may be utilized, this ma erial, for gramme bei o the ype of th p e tw ns 9 fiber fas en ma er a isclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1337, 133, granted December 2 2 1931, on an application filed in the name of Alex Hayner, this material, as disclosed in the patent mentioned,

- being impregnated and coated with lue. The

ends of the wicks entering a chamber 30 into which the wicks drain, this chamber having an outlet 32. r I

The moistening device 22 has mounted thereon for height-wise movement on a pair of rods'33;

a wiping apparatus 34 arranged to' wipe the top and bottom sides of the strands of fiber-fastening material after they have passed through the moistem'ng device, therebyinsuring that the glue on the top and bottom sides of the strands does not become tacky. The wiping apparatus, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, may comprise a pair of horizontalwipers 36 of felt or other suitable material supported in any usual or convenient manner in a frame or casing 38.

After the strands 20 have passed through the wipingapparatus 34, they are. wound upon a spool or reel 40 of relatively large'diameter secured to a rotatable shaft 42 by a'pin 44 and arranged to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. The hub 46 of the reel 40 has a horizontal recess 48 formed thereinKFig. 2) into which the leading ends of the strands may be insertedto, hold the strands. while' they are being wound upon the reel. The opposite sides of the reel 48, as shown in Fig. 1, are spaced'apart a distance equal to the width of the plurality of strands of fastening material when the strands are, located in side-by-side or parallel relation to each other on the hub of thereel. Accordingly,

after drawing the strands 20 through the moistening device and the wiping apparatus, the reel 40. acts to locate the strands in parallel relation with their moistened sideportions engaging each other, thereby causing the strands to stick together to form a substantially'flat strip or ribbon 50 (Figs.v 6 and 'The upper and lower sides of this ribbon will not adhereto the adjoining coils of the ribbon because, as pointed out above, the top and bottom portions of the strands were not moistened and were wiped dry of any accidental moistening bythe wipers'36 after the opposite side portions of thestrands had been moistened by the device 22. f

In order to facilitate winding the strands in parallel relation on the reel 40, a guide member 5| (Figs. 2 and 5) may be provided having pivoted thereon at 52 a guide 54, which, as best shown in Fig. 5, has a lowerQsurface provided with parallel grooves arranged to receive the strands of fastening material and position them in parallel relation on the hub 46 of the reel. The guide 54 also acts as a pressing member arranged to keep.the strands taut as they are wound upon the reel. Fig. 5 shows the manner in which a number of coils of fiber fastening material will lie on the reel with the tackysides of the strands 20 in engagement with each other to form a unitary stripor ribbon after the glue has dried.

The strands 20 may, b'ewound upon the reel until the latter is substantially full, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the reel may then be removed. to a place where the material is to be used as, for example, to a fastening inserting machine of the multiple fastening or gang type, as hereinbefore referred to.

Moreover, the reel with the felted fibrous material wound thereon in the form of a continuous flat ribbon may be shipped from one location to another when supplies of this multi-strand material are required for use in fastening inserting machines or for other purposes.

When the material is to be used, the reel 40 may be mounted for rotation in a convenient manner, as shown in Fig. 6, and the fiat ribbon. 10

50 may be unwound from the reel as the material is needed for use and passed between a pair of guide rolls 58, loosely mounted respectively on shafts 62, 64 and arranged to guide the fiat ribbon as it passes from the reel toward the place where it is to be used, for example, to a plurality of operating positions in a gang type fastening inserting machine. As illustrated in Fig. '7, the guide rolls 58, 60 have grooved surfaces for receiving and guiding the ribbon in the proper direction and these rolls also serve to support the ribbon after it leaves the reel. Fig. 7 shows in detail how the rolls 58, 60 are shaped and how they position and guide the ribbon 58 made up of the seven strands 20.

The ribbon 50 passes from the guide rolls to a separating device comprising, as herein illustrated, a plurality of circular knives or disks 66 secured to a rotatable shaft 68 and arranged to cut the ribbon 58 into its original plurality of separate strands 28, the knives 66, as best shown in Fig. 8, being spaced from each other a distance equal to the diameter of each strand. The ribbon is supported during the cutting operation by a roll 10 mounted on a shaft 12, the roll being spaced a short distance from the knives 66 so that they will not strike it. The knives 66 may be rotated by power means of any usual type and the supporting roll 18 may be driven in an opposite direction to the knives or it may, if desired, be mounted loosely on the shaft 12.

The separated strands 20 next pass between a pair of power operated feeding rolls I4, 16 mounted respectively on shafts 18, 88 which are geared together for equal and opposite rotation by pinion gears 82, 84. These feeding rolls 14, 18 actually unwind the ribbon 50 from the reel 40 and, of course, they also support the ribbon below the rotary knives 66 during the cutting operation. As shown in Fig. 6, the feeding rolls 14, 16 are preferably made up of a plurality of individual narrow rolls or disks each of which is grooved to receive a single strand'of the severed fastening material.

In order to facilitate handling the separate strands, these individual rolls or disks may preferably be alternately large and small so that the adjacent strands of material will be directed more readily to a plurality of guiding tubes 86 through which the separate strands pass inorder to be guided to their different operating positions as, for example, to the fastening forming and driving instrumentalities of a gang type fastening inserting machine. As shown in Fig. 9, the guiding tubes 86 are preferably arranged in staggered relation to each other and thealternate large and small rolls comprising the feeding rolls [4, 16 tend to guide the individual strands to these tubes by inclining the alternate strands in the directions of the tubes which are to receive such strands.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a practical and convenient method of handling a plurality of separate strands of fastening material for use at a plurality of different operating positions and for overcoming the difficulties heretofore encountered in providing a plurality of strands of material for use as fastenings simultaneously at such positions.

While the invention has been disclosed herein with reference to providing strands of fiber fastening material for use in a gang type fastening inserting machine, it should be understood that in its broader aspects the invention is not limited to such use or such material but may be utilized in any case where it is desired to provide a plurality of strands of material for use simultaneously at a number of different operating positions.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of providing fastening material for use as driven fastenings simultaneously at different operating positions which consists in providing a plurality of separate strands of fastening material composed of twisted paper coated with hardened glue, arranging said strands in parallel relation with their opposite sides only engaging each other, uniting said strands in such position by softening the glue on said opposite sides to form a substantially flat ribbon While preventing the glue on the other portions of said strands from becoming soft or tacky, and winding said ribbon into a coil the individual windings of which lie in direct contact with each other without sticking together because the glue on such portions of the strands is not tacky, thereby permitting the strands to be readily drawn from the coil as needed for use as driven fastenings at said operating positions.

2. A method of providing fastening material for use as driven fastenings simultaneously at a plurality of operating positions which consists in providing a plurality of separate strands of said fastening material, rendering the opposite side portions only of said strands adhesive, arranging said strands in parallel relation with their adhesive side portions engaging each other, thereby sticking said strands together widthwise to form a substantially flat integral ribbon, and winding said ribbon into a coil the successive windings of which lie in direct engagement with each other without sticking together because only the opposite side portions of the strands were rendered adhesive, thereby permitting the coil to be readily unwound as the separate strands are needed for use at said operating positions.

3. A method of providing fastening material for use as driven fastenings simultaneously at different operating positions which consists in providing a plurality of separate strands of gluecoated fiber fastening material, moistening the opposite adjacent side portions only of said strands to render the glue thereon tacky, drawing said strands toward one another while in parallel relation to one another until said opposite side portions engage each other, thereby causing the strands to stick together at said opposite side portions to form a substantially flat ribbon, and winding said ribbon into a coil the separate windings of which directly engage each other without sticking together, thereby providing a coil which may be readily unwound as the strands of fiber fastening material are needed for use as driven fastenings at said different operating positions.

4. That improvement in methods of providing fastening material for use as driven fastenings simultaneously at different operating positions which consists in providing a coil of fastening material comprising a plurality of separate strands of said material united to form a single integral strip, unwinding said strip from the coil as the fastening material is needed for use, separating the strip into its original plurality of separate strands as the strip is unwound, and guiding said strands into the different operating positions where they are to be used.

5. That improvement in methods of providing fastening material for use simultaneously at a plurality of operating positions which consists in providing a coil of fiber fastening material comprising a plurality of glue-coated strands of said material arranged in parallel relation to one another and united by adhesive to form a substantially flat ribbon, unwinding the ribbon from the coil as the fiber fastening material is needed for use and feeding it toward said operating positions, separating the ribbon into its original plurality of strands after the ribbon has left the coil, and guiding said strands simultaneously into the different operating positions where they are to be used.

6. That improvement in methods of providing fastening material for use simultaneously at different operating positions in a fastening inserting machine which consists in providing a reel of fiber fastening material comprising a plurality of glue-coated strands of said material which have been stuck together in parallel relation by the glue thereon to form a substantially fiat ribbon, unwinding said ribbon from the reel as the fiber fastening material is needed for use insaid machine, feeding the ribbon toward said operating positions, cutting the ribbon into its original plurality of strands while it is being fed, and guiding the individual strands simultaneously into different operating positions in the fastening inserting machine.

WILLIAM H. NU'I'I. ARTHUR L. RUSSELL. 

